Popular Post TechnicArrow Posted January 8, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 8, 2023 (edited) When was my last post? August? Yikes! I guess I've been quite busy... but what with it now being January, the month of wet weekends when nothing is happening, I've been back to modelling - so settle down for a long read... First, we rewind back to last summer. I had completed most of the scenic work on Alexandra Wharf, and was beginning to wonder what was next. Whilst I have enjoyed the industrial micro-layout genre, I was pining for the roundy-roundy passenger stations of my home layout. So could I create a station-based microlayout? The requirements were simple: A station platform A signal box (and one or two working signals) A goods shed (or half of one at least) Capable of taking short branch line trains Footprint to fit the 22L "really useful box", not including a fiddleyard (most likely cassette based). I came up with the following: By having two tracks exit stage left, it has a sizeable loop for running around, and two decent capacity sidings. The platform dissappears into the rear corner so it can be as long as the viewer imagines it to be; both it and the stage exit are concealed by the goods shed. It can comfortably take a train formed of a coach and milk tank, or 3 wagons and brake van. The only slight oddity is to run around a train it must first be shunted out of the platform. Since I like my models to have at least one foot in reality, I searched around for suitable prototypes the station could take inspiration from. The only examples I could think of where the goods shed was placed directly opposite the station platform as here is the West Somerset railway. A little digging revealed that as luck would have it, I've practically created the layout of Watchet station although with an extra road bridge and a heavily reduced goods yard. I was happy in the knowledge I had devised a usable plan based loosely on an existing station, and was sitting on it over summer until I finished my degree and had some money to throw at it. Then during a conversation with a certain @DRoe96, it transpired he has a book covering the line with detailed plans, and from this he had drawn a digital 3D model of the station building... so there was to be no weasling out of it now! Time passed. I finished my Masters (with Distinction scraped in at 70.5%). I swapped from paying money as a student to earning it as a Graduate Engineer. I found my new lodgings have rather more space than previously. So what if I stepped up a size to the bigger 77L box - I could swap from Setrack to Streamline, and still have space to boot... These ideas continued to float around my head for a few months, until just over a week ago when a purchase was made and a delivery received. That's right, I'm finally upgrading from cardboard layouts! Although the corrugated-sandwhich baseboard of Alexandra Wharf has held up remarkably well for how many times it's been moved, I decided that it was high time I upgraded to a more durable, easier to handle material. And I must say I'm mightily impressed with this kit - even assembled dry it all fits snugly and is remarkably rigid. And it also comes with a lot of free landscaping material 😛 I set about gluing up the boards, for which I chose UHU. I left the end boards unglued to start, since I was yet to cut the stage-exit holes which would be easier when they're not attached, but kept them in place to ensure the backboard was vertical. I quickly realised my book collection wouldn't be enough weight, so found a new use for my camping equipment... And then it was play time! I experimented with many subtle variations to the initial layout to fit the slightly larger space. Whilst including a set of points for the left hand end of the loop could contain the maximum train length, it looked very un-railway-like, so kept to the original scheme. However, the station platform has slid to the left, to give it more depth and remove the awkward shunt-back from run-round manouvres. This has displaced the signal box to the front of the layout, where it helps to stop one from looking under the bridge and out of the scene. Also the goods yard is more defined. This does mean it's not really Watchet anymore... The backscene came free with RM Jan2022, and is an ideal setting and size; I have trimmed it down so the foreground and horizon are more suitably placed. The length will be fine once it's properly installed. And now some beauty shots. Whilst some might call it playing, it's vital to ensure the composition works 😉 Yep, I'm pretty happy with how things are looking! I proceeded to cut out the stage exits (using a utility knife, a tool I inexplicably had yet to obtain), glued on the end boards, and added rounded corners with thin white card. I'm therefore now ready to apply the backscene, which will be yet another new thing to trial, so we'll see how it goes! Although, right now, it looks like a complete mess of course... Edited November 12, 2023 by TechnicArrow 25 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Sweet pea Posted January 9, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9, 2023 Nice start to your new layout build. The backscene does look good. Looking forward to seeing this progress👍 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted January 9, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9, 2023 I shall follow with interest - I'm building a (very) small S&D layout in a 77L RUB at the moment.. Chris H 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Holmes Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 A well thought out start. Looking forward to seeing how this one develops. Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold simonmcp Posted January 9, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9, 2023 Great start, gives me inspiration to get on with my SMS baseboard. How are you planning to disguise/smooth the edges of the rounded corners of card in the backscene? I ask because I haven't worked out how to do mine yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Andrew D Posted January 10, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10, 2023 First off, as someone who struggled through one measly year of uni to get a CertHE, HUGE congrats on the Masters 👍 Loving what you are doing here. I’m dying to get the time to complete my unreliable box file layout so I can move on to something more robust and reliable like you. Looking forward to updates. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 Cheers all! I have just realised I misnamed the topic, the Wrapping Paper box is the smaller 22L size, so I've corrected that one :-) On 09/01/2023 at 07:12, Gilbert said: I shall follow with interest - I'm building a (very) small S&D layout in a 77L RUB at the moment.. Chris H Thank you! I spotted your layout a while ago, and seeing someone else squish a station into these boxes was definitely inspiration! 23 hours ago, simonmcp said: Great start, gives me inspiration to get on with my SMS baseboard. How are you planning to disguise/smooth the edges of the rounded corners of card in the backscene? I ask because I haven't worked out how to do mine yet. That implies I have a plan... If I was sensible I might say filler or something, but I don't have any, so I might find some other material to smooth it off, or I'll rely on the thickness of the backscene to soften the joint. 5 hours ago, Andrew D said: Thank you Andrew (dunno what I've done to those poor quote boxes but I can't undo it on mobile!) I don't know about reliable yet, but it's certainly more robust than my cardboard Alexandra Wharf is. Having a non-functioning layout is surprisingly demotivational, but there's always a guilty feeling about leaving it to work on other projects - I've gone around that circuit many times at this point! 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Andrew D Posted January 11, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 11, 2023 18 hours ago, TechnicArrow said: Having a non-functioning layout is surprisingly demotivational, but there's always a guilty feeling about leaving it to work on other projects - I've gone around that circuit many times at this point! Mate, you don’t know what a profound effect this little comment has had on me for the past 24 hours. I’ve totally stalled with my boxfile layout and as such I spend evenings procrastinating or watching YouTube videos instead of modelling. And I end up feeling bad and disengaged. You’ve inspired me to bite the bullet, rationalise my stock and dispose of all the N gauge stuff as well as the old and crusty OO gauge stuff, disassemble the boxfile layout, and start again with something even smaller in OO using a decent baseboard and a tiny roster of tiny trains. There comes a point when you have to be realistic with the amount of free time you actually have, and the aspects of modelling that you actually enjoy. Thank you. 8 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted January 16, 2023 Author Share Posted January 16, 2023 On 11/01/2023 at 08:52, Andrew D said: There comes a point when you have to be realistic with the amount of free time you actually have, and the aspects of modelling that you actually enjoy. Totally. My mind never stays long on one project, so I try to "stage" my projects with enough variety that I can switch between them, rather than doing one type of task continuously. For example, I took a break from actually building this new layout to spent three pleasant evening assembling, painting, and finessing a Dapol brake van kit. I hope you can find your motivation again! But this weekend I've been back to the layout - and specifically, the backscene. I decided the corners would be good enough as they are, and so started by brushing a layer of glue over the entire back boards and leaving it for 24hrs to soak in. Whilst I know wallpaper adhesive is cheap and widely used, whilst spending time in my local model shop I came across Deluxe Material's "View Glue" and it's promise of being easy to apply meant I decided to give it a shot. I followed a combination of the instructions on the bottle, and the instructions that came with the Railway Modeller backscene. The latter instructed me to iron out the creases, which I did with what felt like a reasonable amount of success. I then applied a second coat of glue to the board, and to the backscene paper, and brought the two together expecting to have time to slide the paper into my desired place. Mistake No.1: this was not the case! The glue gripped a lot more than I was expecting, and only the finest adjustments proved to be possible. Nevertheless I rolled the sheet into place, smoothed over the corners, and squished the bubbles of glue out to the edges. Mistake No.2: whilst both instructions advocated the use of a damp cloth to press the print home and remove excess glue, this was not harmless to the backscene - some ink was removed, leaving white scars, whilst inexplicably two of the folds have shown up as dark lines. The white scars can be masked as clouds, but the dark streak will be more difficult to hide. Mistake No.3: The most agrevious issue is the tears... luckily one is behind the goods shed, although the one in the sky above it will be a pain. But overall, the backscene is fairly tidy, and I'm pleased that the corners worked reasonably well (don't worry about the wrinkling in the above photo, that's where the stage exit is, and has since been cut away). The overall effect is good and is perfectly fine for the viewing angles and lighting conditions it will mostly be seen in. And once I had a layout with a properly fixed backscene, it was inevitable the trains would come out again... It's still a bit of a papery mess, but points aren't cheap so will have to wait for February's modelling budget. And I think I need to go Code 75, which makes the lengths of Code 100 I bought last weekend a tad redundant! Now, to test that the backscene works, I needed to take some low-level photos... 1472 arriving with a mixed passenger train. This view explains why I've placed the signal box at the front; although I'd prefer to have it the other side to see through the windows, it's essential here as a "natural" viewblock of the stage exit. There's also that annoying line visible in the backscene... The 14xx is sinking at it's rear end since I took the traction tyres off the centre axle and the spring isn't strong enough. But now that Hornby have announced they're doing a fresh run, I hope that means their spares will become available again! Anyway, it's seemingly a busy time at Watchesh, since loking the other way we see there's a Pannier shunting the yard. (I wasn't planning for this layout to be big enough for two locos at once, but apparently it is. Guess I have to work out the wiring to allow isolating tracks now...) The pannier is of course 8763, shunting a van into the goods shed... ...before taking the brake van out to the main line and departing. That's all for now - I've exhausted the "to-do" list given my current materials. So I guess it's back to the planning... 18 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 Given I've not posted in *checks* over a month, you could be forgiven for thinking nowt has been happening. But you'd be wrong - oh so very wrong... 1. Furniture Not the first thing you were probably expecting, but a surprisingly important one. Up until now about 3 weeks ago, this layout had existed entirely on the floor. So a quick trip to Ikea, and my room has a new shelf unit - paid for by the landlord too, how about it! There's even room to park a certain Dairy-themed microlayout! The various boxes on the shelves are, somewhat inevitable, entirely filled with railway-related items... 2. Trackwork The other key two areas sort of happened in parallel, so here we go. When February rolled around, and thus a new month's worth of modelling budget, I finally bought the track. Begone, paper templates! Despite having previously bought two lengths of Code 100 flex, I decided to upgrade to Code 75 - and already I feel it was worth it. Next was cutting the rail to length. By being very carfeul with my trackplan, I have used *precisely* two lengths of flextrack - and with only two cuts per piece, so other than at the pointwork there are no rail joins. I'm quite impressed it worked out so neatly! You can also see I'm experimenting with signals - this one's a mock-up made from LEGO, but it gives you the idea! Finally, in order to bring the rail height to that of Code 100, I have cut and positioned a layer of my favourite material, cereal box card. This will also give a very slight ballast shoulder. The main reason is that at the ends I will be tranisitioning to a short length of Code 100, to give a little more durability before the cassettes (which are yet to exist). 3. Lighting At the same time as the above, as you may have spotted by the photo quality, the layout now sports its own lighting rig. The lighting source is an LED tape product; because I'm indecisive, I chose one that lets you alter the colour temperature. It does this by having two LEDs at each point, one cool white and one warm white, that are contolled by an IR remote. At first I just strung it over the front - surprisingly effective! But not that durable. So a more rigid solution was sought. Luckily, this solution turned up in the post - when the track arrived, it was packaged with a stiff, 1m-long, L-profile carboard beam. So that was immediately put to use! It had to be extended by 10cm, achieved with with card reinforced by an old plastic ruler to prevent sagging. I soon learnt what everyone else probably already knows - that a lighting strip in line with the front of the layout isn't great, since anything at the front is somewhat in shadowl it has to be cantileverd forwards. This was achieved using two lengths of meccano L-beam, which I initially used for a more basic lighting rig for Alexandra Wharf. That layout now has a different lighting set-up, so the beams were free to be used here. The beams and lighting rig are secured to each other and the layout by meccano bolts in various places. But now the rig was forwards, the rear of the layout was getting darker, so I needed a second row. Out came the soldering iron, and some not-too-shoddy joints later, I had a second row lit up. I also took the opportunity to move the control-and-power unit to a more sensible place. The second row is yet to be properly supported, but it works well for now! Not bad, eh? 4. And Finally With all the above in place - furniture, track, and lighting - it was about time some trains started running... Ever since I've had the track cut and joined, I've had it jury-rigged to allow lots of playing testing... and I've thoroughly enjoyed it, so I must be on the right track! What be next? I'm hoping to get the track fixed down by the end of the weekend, so I can make a start on wiring it properly. I should also get the fiddle yard sorted before too long, otherwise things will stagnate. But after that I've also got a whole host of other plans for this layout; how many of them come to fruition remains to be seen! 19 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Andrew D Posted February 19, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 19, 2023 Great stuff! The lighting makes all the difference. How are you enjoying the seamless running on the electrofrog points? I’m obsessed with the one I have in Phase 2 and will certainly never go back.Looking forward to more updates. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 2 hours ago, Andrew D said: Great stuff! The lighting makes all the difference. How are you enjoying the seamless running on the electrofrog points? I’m obsessed with the one I have in Phase 2 and will certainly never go back.Looking forward to more updates. I did use Electrofrog small Ys for two of the three points on Alexandra Wharf, but never really got good running on that layout. I keep meaning to one day have a proper go at fixing that trackwork... But here, the combination of Electrofrog, streamline radii and 0-6-0 locos is far more satisfying - and it's not even properly fixed up yet! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 Another month later... I guess you can say I'm regular, just not that frequent! What's up now? Well, the entire layout it seems! The bonus of a microlayout being that you can pick it up and flip it over quite easily... Let's wind back a few days. Until this weekend, my trackwork has been floating around loose. That's because I didn't want to fix it down until I had the point control mechanism in. I've decided to use the Ratio point "remote control" kit for this layout, since I will also be using one or two Ratio signals, and this way I can have one lever frame that controls the lot. The kit is very simple; a brass spindle threads into the point tiebar, and under the board a string connected to the lever pulls the point, and a spring returns it when the string is slackened. Nevertheless I have found very little online about this kit, so was unsure how reliable sturdy it would be. It turns out, the brass spindles thread into the tiebar very securely, with a tight and solid feel. Once these were in, I could glue up the track and plonk it onto the board. Just a little PVA bonded it very quickly to the card underlayer. The two sidings remain unfixed at this stage since their alingment will be dependent on buildings and other sceninc work. You can also see the lever frame taking shape in the corner; I need to take them out and fettle them a bit before they're fixed. Whilst that glue was setting, I started assembling the Starter signal. I've built one of these before, but an older version where the signal arms were preassembled components. Not anymore, in the new kits the lenses come loose, which is right fiddly. But it's in, and it works! Just about. The connecting wire isn't quite right, it jams sometimes, so needs attention. I also plan to fit a shunting disc as a secondary calling-on signal; I've put the base mechanism in, but need to figure out a mounting bracket arrangement. Lifting up the board, we can see the beginnings of how this all links up. Due to the thin board and the tall spindles, I have used small wooden blocks to mount the eyelets to; these also line the strings with the precut holes in the crossbracing. However, half of the blocks didn't glue properly, so it's not quite all in yet! Whilst I had it lifted, I drilled some small holes for track power droppers, and threaded wires along underneat, soldering up as I went. On the surface the wires are just poking up in the air, soldering to the rails is not a job I find easy, so it's one for another day! I will also need to source some microswitches for the elctrofrog points; they came with droppers pre-soldered, and installing switches seems worthwhile since I don't expect the Ratio control kit will apply sufficient pressure to maintain electrical contact through the blades alone. So overall, it's not quite a bird's nest yet, but it's a good start! For now, she's back the right way up. I was hoping to have at least one, if not both of points and power working by the end of this weekend, but the good weather meant I spent more time in the garden instead. Still, there is progress, and much satisfaction! 11 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Andrew D Posted March 21, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 21, 2023 I’ve never heard of this Ratio system you are using - very interesting. Kudos for having the patience and skill to build the signal - I’ve already decided that on the next layout it will be mechanised Dapol all the way! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatloaf Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 This is a great little layout. Are you using a fiddle stick at each end? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry1975 Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Great little layout, you've managed to get a nice mix of operational interest without over doing it. Jerry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted April 15, 2023 Author Share Posted April 15, 2023 I swear I don't intend to only post monthly, but that seems to be the way my world is going right now! Cheers all for your comments. On 05/04/2023 at 07:06, Jerry1975 said: Great little layout, you've managed to get a nice mix of operational interest without over doing it. Jerry. Thanks Jerry! The plan evolved a fair amount, there was about a year's worth of it existing as an idea; the fact I was still interested in it told me it was worth doing! On 21/03/2023 at 22:47, meatloaf said: This is a great little layout. Are you using a fiddle stick at each end? Funny you should say that. The original plan is indeed for basic cassettes, which will also facilitate running-round at the left-hand end of the layout. However, there are now bigger plans, which include running a track along the back of my desk, and possibly around the windowsill... that's one for another time though. On 21/03/2023 at 07:28, Andrew D said: I’ve never heard of this Ratio system you are using - very interesting. Kudos for having the patience and skill to build the signal - I’ve already decided that on the next layout it will be mechanised Dapol all the way! Thank you! And I don't blame you for using the Dapol ones - these ones are damned fiddly... Since the last post, I have obtained a bag of small screws, which I used to fix the blocks under the board - far more secure than relying on the glue, although they've been glued as well just to be doubly sure. This means I could properly play with the strings and springs. The first thing I discovered is the springs included with the point kits are very strong - certainly too strong for the plastic levers. I resolved this by pulling apart some pens, and using the much softer springs found within! Ratio spring on the left - pen springs on the right. Installed under the points - the brass rod connects to the tiebar, and the eyelets are used to hook the springs and pass the strings. They're all brought into one central corridor that passes through the pre-cut holes in the SMS baseboards. I had hoped to operate the crossover points from one lever, but even with the softer springs this proved to be impractical so they're on separate levers. I have also refrained from gluing in anything, with the levers and signal base isntead being held in my yet more screws; this means when something inevitably breaks, or I want to rearrange something, it's easy enough to untie and remove the various componenets. The underside of the lever frame is definitely the most chaotic area! The past week's worth of evenings have featured much untieing, fettling and reassembling - but I now have a fully, mechanically functional layout. It does of course look the same as before I started... Ah wait, let's put some scenery back. That's a lot better! And I can confirm it's now a lot more fun to play with operate! The slightly abrupt ending is since although it's *mechanically* complete, it's far from *electrically* complete... there's still a lot of stalling spots! I also have yet to properly wire up the electrofrogs; to my surprise they work at present, but I have ordered some microswitches to ensure there is always electrical contact if the blades don't fully throw. Looking back at the signals, you may notice the additional shunting disc that's appeared on the main starter post. This is because this is in fact the signal I built at home, which believe it or not was my first attempt at building one of these... it's a lot better than my more recent attempt, and has a slightly smaller stance, so I stole it and installed it here! I have also made a foray into lighting. I purchased some "SMD" LEDS, which are *tiny* but still very bright. Currently I'm running them from a pair of batteries, I will need to establish a proper power supply at some point; despite my dad's best efforts to teach me elctronics engineering, I still find resistors confusing! These tiny LEDs fit neatly within ModelU signal lamp bodies, which can then be glued to the signal post... It's the fiddliest job ever, but damn does it look good! But if this is fiddly, I'm dreading the standalone ground disc signal I "need" to make operational... That's all for now, I guess I'll probably be back in another month! 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted May 19, 2023 Author Share Posted May 19, 2023 On 15/04/2023 at 11:53, TechnicArrow said: That's all for now, I guess I'll probably be back in another month! How true this turned out to be... again! It's not that I'm not doing anything, I just spend more time modelling than writing about said modelling. Since I post so infrequently, maybe I should turn this into one of them blog thingies... Still, since we're here are again, what has been happening? 1. Lever Frame The first area of focus has been continuing the development of the lever frame. Last time I posted, it had been installed and strung up, and shifted the points satisfactorily. The next step was to install microswitches, to change the frog polarity rather than relying on the point blades. I intially planned to fix these adjacent to the points themselves, but the switches of course have their own spring - which would either add to or counteract the main point springs. Instead I opted to install them at the levers, to prevent any additional load to the already-tight strings. To get the switches installed, after much head scratching and upside-down thinking, I realised the simplest (although not necessarily neatest) option was to cut switch-shaped slots in the front board, and secure them from the front. They come with small transverse mounting holes, through which I poked a thick paperclip, which is in turn affixed to the baseboard. Unconventional, but it works! This position neatly aligns the switch tabs with the moving part of the levers, such that when the lever is pulled off, the switch is compressed and the polarity is duly changed. Then it was a case of soldering up the wires. Thanks to the central set of points needing to throw in the opposite direction to the other two, the positive and negative "busses" from the track feed have to cross over betwean each one. Then a wire from the "common" from each switch was run under the board to the relevant point frog. Also of note is that I've painted the levers; using the standard colours of black for points, red for signals, and blue for FPL. OK, there's not actually an FPL here, but since the crossover has two levers and would in reality require an FPL, it seemed like a sensible choice! 2. Casettes The other key area of progress has been the final piece of the infrastructure puzzle - the cassettes. These were intended to be as simple as possible, so I started by buying some lengths of aluminium angle. The cheapest option, especially considering postage, was to buy in 250mm lengths - so that's what I did! 10 to be exact, to give 2x 500mm cassettes for short trains, and 1x 250mm cassette, for loco run-round. These were drilled with a hole at each end, and small screws used to fix them to wood. I built the short onto thin hardboard, but I discovered that for the longer runs the board didn't offer enough rigidity between the sections, so I used thicker (although slightly too narrow) battons instead. An offcut of these battons currently provides support at the "free" end of the cassettes. The final cassettes are fairly cheap, simple and yet so far successful! I've only got one functional train at present, but the 500mm casette perfectly holds the pannier, a wagon and coach; whilst the 250mm one comfortably holds a loco or loco+wagon, and is a lot easier to handle when shifting from one track to the other. Of course, the cassettes are only one half of the puzzle here; they need to connect to the track. The plan was to first transition from the scenic Code 75 to a length of Code 100, and then onto the cassettes. To this end, a while ago I had obtained two 40mm straight tracks. These were cut in half, reinforced with superglue, carefully aligned to the scenic trackwork, and glued straight to the board. Some messy soldering later, and I have an untidy but surprisingly smooth Code 75 to 100 transition. The choice of the 40mm length straights was to provide the sleepers with fishplat cut-outs, which allow me to hook up any trackwork I fancy. From this Code 100 piece, the final connection to the cassettes is just as simple. A pair of screws were driven into the board, with wire connections from the rail ends providing power. The casettes are built such that the aluminum angle protrudes about an inch futher than the wood, meaning the aluminium rests directly on these screws - which provide both vertical alignment (complete with fine-tuning ability) and electrical contact. Horizontal alignment is achieved mostly by eye, with help from a piece of vertical board glued between the rails. It looks absolutely awful, but initial testing seems positive. Not perfect yet, but with some fettling (mostly electrical, I'm still awful at soldering to rails) all should be good! 3. Rolling Stock Now that I have a functional layout, and a method of moving trains on and off it, I no longer had an excuse to not buy more trains... so when at a stand at the GWSR's Steam Gala last weekend I saw a Collett brake coach for £25, I jumped at it. For an older Bachmann model, it's still a fine one! A train on a train! The new purchase at Toddington Forming a small branchline train on the layout I also discovered the box contained a blanking plate, which can be easily plugged into either corridor connection. This meant that by affixing a Modelu tail lamp to said blanking plate, I have a coach with tail lamp that can be easily switched from end to end. No running tail-lamp-first here! 4. Ballast With the infrastructure practically complete, attention can finally turn to the scenics, starting at ground level. I bought this ballast a while ago, so entirely unnecessarily I sprinkled some loose around the rails to see if it's any good. I'm never sure of colours for this; I thought I'd try some brown stuff rather than the oft-seen fresh light grey, but I'm not sure. Thoughts? Oh, and I treated 3705 - the first loco I ever owned, and by far my best runner - to etched cabside plates. Honestly not sure they made that much of a difference, but still! 5. Signal Box FInally for today's post, a conundrum! Ever since conception of the layout at this size, I have been placing the signal box at the front of the layout. In this position it acts as an additional scenic block to the bridge, stopping you from looking under it and out of the world. It also evenly balances the scenic "weight" of the station building at the back and goods shed at the far end, and is the only position it has a comfortable depth since the track was laid with this position in mind. However. Since the purchase of the coach, the running of two-coach trains is very tempting. This places the loco right at the ends of the platform - when heading "up", this is out of sight behind the 'box. So I am contemplating shifting the box to the far side. This would lost the view block but free up an open viewing area at the front, and also enables one to look athrough the windows at the interior rather than at the uninteresting rear wall. However, the kit I am planning to use has the ladder at the left-hand end, is apparently not easily bodgable. A further option would therefore be to move it to the opposite end of the platform. But this "blocks in" the platform, and there is very little depth available at this end. There are pros and cons to each, so I've assembled a collage of different views of each option. Any thoughts are welcome! 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoombeTown Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 Looking great mate. Re signal box, I'd say the righthand of the platform looks the most natural to me. Another option could be a platform mounted box like at Washford, but that not be the visuals you want... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Andrew D Posted May 20, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 20, 2023 A thoroughly splendid update that I enjoyed reading, thanks. I especially appreciated the blow-by-blow account of the cassettes, as this is all black magic to me and there are few to no tutorials etc about how to go about this essential part of layout building. I like your idea and might just copy emulate it in a future project. Cheers! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted May 20, 2023 Author Share Posted May 20, 2023 11 hours ago, DRoe96 said: Looking great mate. Re signal box, I'd say the righthand of the platform looks the most natural to me. Another option could be a platform mounted box like at Washford, but that not be the visuals you want... Cheers! Plonking it at that end also gives it better sight lines - away from the bridge, and opposite the crossover. Does slightly block visibility of the already-plonked signal though! I did consider a platform 'box, mostly to stop the platform looking so hemmed in. But I'm too keen on using this kit: https://www.osbornsmodels.com/gwr-aloo040-small-timber-signal-box-11-lever-kit-1-51577-p.asp It seems nicely detailed, a local prototype for the area I'm aiming for, and a bit different to the standard Ratio/Peco kits that crop up repeatedly. I probably could bodge it into a platform-mounted one, but it looks too good to do that to it! 2 hours ago, Andrew D said: A thoroughly splendid update that I enjoyed reading, thanks. I especially appreciated the blow-by-blow account of the cassettes, as this is all black magic to me and there are few to no tutorials etc about how to go about this essential part of layout building. I like your idea and might just copy emulate it in a future project. Cheers! Cheers! Absolutely, steal away, that's what this place is for! I've never built it used a cassette system before, so my goal was to keep it as basic as possible. It will still need some fettling, so this may not be the final artefact, but it feels like a solid start. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold longchap Posted May 20, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 20, 2023 (edited) Signal box placement is a process determined by logic, as they ideally need to have sight of points and signals they control, ie, those on the main running line, so not usually those in goods yards controlled by local ground levers. You choice therefore is a good one. I like your approach to layout planning, construction and development (with a careful eye on budgetary control), often lacking and the fact that everything works does you credit. Well done. Following with interest. Best, Bill Edited May 20, 2023 by longchap 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 (edited) Really enjoying reading this thread … it’s great to see you modelling again - inspirational stuff! Steve S Edited June 3, 2023 by SteveyDee68 Deleted extraneous words!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicArrow Posted June 3, 2023 Author Share Posted June 3, 2023 On 20/05/2023 at 12:41, longchap said: I like your approach to layout planning, construction and development (with a careful eye on budgetary control), often lacking and the fact that everything works does you credit. Well done. Thanks a lot, it's very encouraging to hear! I often enjoy planning layouts when I should be building my current ones, and the best way to plan is always with mock-ups - you get a far better feel for what does and doesn't fit than a computer, and I really enjoy making a well-composed viewing scene. 48 minutes ago, SteveyDee68 said: Really enjoying reading this thread, but am puzzled … it’s greaf to see you modelling again - inspirational stuff! Either you're puzzled that I'm modelling again, or you've missed out a sentence in there somewhere :-p Since I'm here, a quick update that after sitting on it for a couple of weeks, the signal box will definitely be going in the back-right. I may need to shave off the rear wall to allow it to fit, we shall see. But this leaves me with an open gap at the front of the scene, I need something to block the sightline under the bridge and out of the layout. So I stole the small office I built for Alexandra Wharf! I will of course need to build a version in stone, but it provides a neat focal point and plenty of options for small foreground details. As for the bridge itself, I'm looking for something in embossed/relief stone, and ideally a slightly arched top. I think I will use a Langley Models kit unless anyone has any other ideas I may have missed? Finally, whilst various temptations were made along the theme of the new Rapido wagons, I have so far resisted buying yet more stock for a layout that's not complete yet. However, whilst recently at home, I rediscovered a Bachmann SR van but in a LMS light grey livery; I never really liked that bright grey colour on it, so I've brought it back and abused it with a coat of SR dark brown (or as close as I could get withy mix of acrylics). Much better! Now for a touch up coat, and to try and find some decals for it; again, any recommendations greatfully received. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 4 hours ago, TechnicArrow said: Either you're puzzled that I'm modelling again, or you've missed out a sentence in there somewhere :-p You guessed it! I actually posted that I couldn’t see how to follow your new thread, after pointlessly searching through the top menus/icons etc … And was just about to post when I spotted the button at the BOTTOM of the thread! Doh! 🫢🙄🤣 So I deleted all what I’d said, but obviously missed a bit when I hit the delete button! Now corrected … Steve S PS The hut looks great in the new position, and (for example) ScaleModelScenery do a hole bunch of items for detailing such an area up - workbenches, tools, bikes, oil drums, ladders, wheelbarrows etc 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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